One week after telling Sweepsy it planned to remain in California as a social casino platform in 2026 and beyond, Modo Casino has unveiled the timeline for how it plans to phase Sweeps Coin play out of the state by Jan. 1, when Assembly Bill 831 officially becomes law and sweepstakes casinos become illegal.
In an email sent to California players on Wednesday, with the subject line Important Dates for California Players, Modo Casino said players will no longer be able to purchase any types of Gold Coin packages (which come with free Sweeps Coins) in California starting Dec. 1, 2025. However, players will still be able to play with Sweeps Coins and redeem any Sweeps Coins through Dec. 31.
After that, on Jan. 1, all Sweeps Coin activity will end at Modo Casino in California.
AMOE postmarked by Nov. 8 will be accepted through Dec. 31
Here’s the full email Modo Casino sent to its California players:
Due to the new law AB 831, which will end Sweepstakes (SC) gameplay in California beginning January 1, 2026, Modo Casino will be making updates to our services to reflect these upcoming changes and ensure a smooth transition for our California players.
Please note that, in California, players will no longer be able to purchase any Gold Coin packages with promotional SC as of December 1, 2025. Players will continue to be able to participate in SC gameplay and redeem through December 31, 2025. Beginning January 1, 2026, players in California will still be able to enjoy gameplay using Gold Coins only on Modo Casino.
Alternative Methods of Entry (AMOE) from California postmarked by November 8, 2025, will continue to be accepted and processed prior to the December 31, 2025, deadline.
We appreciate your understanding during this transition. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly Modo Customer Support Team, we’re always happy to assist.
What happened before this?
On Oct. 30, a spokesperson for Modo Casino told Sweepsy the operator “will continue to operate its Freemium Play (Gold Coins only) experience in California indefinitely” and it will “withdraw all Sweeps Coin activity in the state effective December 31, 2025.”
That statement came after Modo Casino had earlier in the day sent an email to its California players, teasing that the sweeps casino would remain active in the state in 2026 and beyond but not yet sharing the exact details.
From dual currency to single currency
AB 831 outlaws dual-currency sweeps casinos and criminalizes any entity that “knowingly or willfully” supports the industry. The bill formally passed the California Legislature on Sept. 12 and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it on Oct. 11. It officially becomes law on Jan. 1, 2026, meaning any sweeps casino operating after that date will be committing a crime.
Removing Sweeps Coins from its platform does two things that will allow Modo Casino to remain in California.
- Sweeps Coins, unlike Gold Coins, can be redeemed for real money, which has put them at the center of lawsuits and other opposition to sweeps casinos, with opponents arguing Sweeps Coins too closely resemble real currency and, thus, constitute illegal online gambling.
- With only Gold Coins in use, Modo Casino will become a single-currency platform — pulling it out of the umbrella created by the dual-currency language in AB831.
Why Gold Coin play will still be legal in California
By only offering gameplay with Gold Coins, which is purely digital in-game currency that can’t be redeemed for anything, Modo Casino will become a strictly social casino. Those are still legal in California under AB831.
It’s the same strategy employed by sweeps gaming giant VGW, the owner of Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker. Like other sweeps casinos, VGW sites have pulled out of states such as New York and New Jersey this year. But unlike many sweeps casinos, VGW sites have only pulled Sweeps Coin gaming from those states and kept Gold Coin play live.
Because, again, nothing in these bills (like AB831 in California) outlaws social casino gameplay.
Just sweepstakes casino gameplay.
While players are able to buy Gold Coins with real money, these Gold Coins cannot ever be redeemed for real currency. They are only usable inside the social casino games themselves — like Candy Crush.
Or, like Jackpot Party Casino and Play.Yaamava. These social casinos are owned by two of the staunchest opponents of sweeps gaming (Light & Wonder and the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, respectively). AB831 was sponsored by the YSMN, so anything that Play.Yamaava does is not going to be illegal. That means any sweeps casino that simply pulls its Sweeps Coins but keeps its Gold Coin gameplay live after Jan. 1 will be doing so legally.
Status check on sweeps sites in CA
Nine sweepstakes casinos have already chosen to leave early — months before California’s official cutoff date for sweeps gaming on Jan. 1.
Those operators (High 5 Casino, Carnival Citi, Ruby Sweeps, Dara Casino, SweepsUSA, Grand Vault Casino, TheBoss.Casino, CosmoSlots, and LuckySlots) are quietly disappearing from the state now, rather than waiting until the last moments of legality.
Meanwhile, the biggest names in the space aren’t moving yet. The major operators — VGW, B-Two Operations (McLuck, Hello Millions, SpinBlitz, Mega Bonanza, PlayFame, Jackpota), A1 Development LLC (NoLimitCoins, Tao Fortune, FunzCity, Fortune Wheelz, Funrize, Storm Rush), and ARB Interactive (Modo Casino) — are still in place.
Sweepsy also learned that WOW Vegas plans to stay live in California all the way through December.
Notice the larger operators are the ones staying? Smaller sweeps casino companies don’t have the same financial buffer. For them, the risk of even a minor regulatory slip is too costly — so pulling out months early seems to be the safer business decision.
